Caprivi detainees appear in court

About 100 Caprivi detainees appeared in court in Grootfontein, about 450km southwest of Caprivi Strip, on Monday on charges of treason following an armed attack on 2 August by suspected separatists in the Caprivi capital Katima Mulilo, an official of the Namibian Society for Human Rights (NSHR) confirmed to IRIN on Tuesday. "The detainees were remanded in custody and their cases postponed to 24 January next year," Moses Nasilele told IRIN. "Both the media and the detainees' relatives were not allowed into the court, raising doubts about the physical well- being of the accused," Nasilele added. The NSHR has claimed that many of the detainees had been brutally assaulted during their arrest and had subsequently been tortured in detention. Government spokesmen initially denied the reports, but later government ministers, including the defence minister, admitted to what they called mistakes committed by security forces in the course of implementing a state of emergency declared by President Sam Nujoma in the Caprivi Strip. Nasilele also said as far as the NSHR was aware, none of the detainees had legal representation. "We have applied on behalf of 18 detainees to be visited by lawyers, but the Caprivi authorities ruled that such a decision should be taken by central government," Nasilele said. The NSHR estimates that more than 300 Caprivians were arrested in the aftermath of the attack when security forces were enforcing the state of emergency. News reports on Monday said approximately 200 of the arrested Caprivians have been released, although the Namibian Defence Force spokesman said "any or all of the released people could be re-arrested if necessary".